Mike Chen's Hockey Blog
Next entry: 10 Years Ago: THN’s Top 50, #2
Previous entry: 10 Years Ago: THN’s Top 50, #3
Who Will Win The West?
by Mike Chen on 10/07/08 at 11:38 AM ET
Comments (0)
Regular season games have already taken place but for those watching the arms race in the Western Conference, the competition truly begins on Thursday night when Pacific Division heavyweights San Jose and Anaheim go at each other while Detroit showcases its might in a Cup-raising opener. These are strange times for many Western teams, when just about every team believes that it might have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup. And for the most part, that’s probably true—squeak into the playoffs and there’s enough parity that you can do some damage. That’s how things go in the wild, unpredictable west.
Of course, the trick is to actually get a playoff spot. That’s a different story.
A quick look across the major hockey prognosticators and previewers shows a general consensus on who’s a Cup contender. For those that fall into that fuzzy area between great and good, well, that’s where we’ve got a little bit of a traffic jam. When you’ve got a mob scrambling for an exit, only a few will get through and some will get left behind. That’s why this will be an interesting race from Day 1.
Assuming all goes according to script, you’ve got playoff spots already penciled in for Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, and San Jose. If one of those teams missed the playoffs, it’d mean a surprise meltdown of significant proportions. Another playoff spot has to go to the Northwest Division winner (and there’s pretty much no consensus on that other than it won’t be Colorado). That means that three playoff spots remain for Columbus, Chicago, Nashville, Phoenix, and some combination of the other Northwest teams.
Most hockey folks agree: LA, St. Louis, and Colorado are all in different stages of an awkward transition. If you’re betting on youth surging to the top, then the Kings might surprise. If you think that wily veterans can come to the rescue, then the Avalanche might squeak in there. If you’re hoping that chemistry experiments work out, then St. Louis might be your sleeper.
But let’s take a quick tour of the other teams that have a more legit shot at a playoff spot. Columbus and Phoenix made significant moves to address problem areas, Chicago is riding a wave of talented youth, and Nashville continues to be quietly scrappy. In the Northwest, you can argue pros and cons about Minnesota (great team defense, no scoring), Calgary (top-heavy but chemistry problems remain), Edmonton (surging youth, questionable defense and goaltending), and Vancouver (Roberto Luongo, the Sedins, and not much else), but the only certainty is that one of those teams will win the division. The other three will be left in a dogfight. Three playoff spots, seven teams in the hunt. It’s gonna get ugly.
It’s important to note how the schedule has changed. The previous three seasons had division rivals facing off eight times; that’s been cut to six. Instead, there’s an influx of games versus the East. That means there will be more games that don’t directly affect other immediate rivals and less four-point games. This could either make the standings even more volatile or it could allow them to settle faster.
The Washington Capitals proved last season that you can come back from a disaster start to capture the division title. Of course, the Caps had an enormous surge to propel them forward and they had the luck of Carolina being decimated by injuries. And let’s not forget that only a single point separated the Southeast winner and non-playoff teams—and those teams wouldn’t have cut it in the more-competitive Western Conference.
In other words, you can recover from an awful start but only if absolutely everything goes your way. Most teams would be wise to avoid that route. As for the old axiom that games in October don’t matter anymore, well, that just isn’t true anymore. Instead, the smart strategy for every team in the West—even the Detroits and Dallases of the world—is to treat every game like it’s a playoff game. It’s the only way to win the Western Conference and it starts Thursday night.
Filed in: NHL | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Playoffs, Western+Conference,
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Intent To Blow vs. In The Crease
What Do You Expect From A Rookie Season?
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
When learning from experts it’s best to learn personally from them, or from their blog. We can provide that with poker lessons blog, your home to learn poker personally.
Do you get shocked from the luck in the game of poker? Stop getting shocked and start being a Poker Shoker.
As well as reading about hockey games, you can also find info about poker like which poker sites accept American Express or which are the best Canadian poker sites and also find the top rakeback sites at rakeback.net.
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.